Sacrifice
by Jaum
Summary: Sometimes, you must put the needs of the world above your own. Zuko understood this. Zutara
1. Sacrifice

**Hello, this is my first fic written in english. I really need to thank a friend for the huge help correcting my mistakes and giving me precious advice. I would never manage to post this story if it wasn't this person. Thanks a lot Advocaat!**

This happens sometime after the end of the series.

**I hope you enjoy it.**  
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The last airbender ran through the forest, leaving a gush of air behind him. Thousands of leaves lifted into the night, and slumbering birds woke while the avatar ran away into the darkness.

It was a half an hour after later, Aang was in a clearing when a fireball exploded a few centimeters from his feet, forcing him to jump backwards. When he looked back, Zuko was walking out of the woods, looking him with hard eyes.

"So now you're going to attack me?"

"Not yet. I just did that to get your attention," the firebender responded.

"So, you kissed her, Zuko. You have the girl I like. What do you want from me!?"

Zuko shook his head. "She doesn't like me, Aang. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have brought this on you; tainted your soul with bitter feelings. I know how that feels. I should have kept this to myself."

Zuko's eyes softened.

"You're the avatar; the bridge between our world and the spirit world. Your state reflects both worlds' states. I was afraid I'd end up corrupting you somehow, and I was right. I failed you today" Zuko's expression became determined then."But I swear, Aang. I'll make things right again."

"Wait...she doesn't like you?" Aang asked with hope in his eyes. "And what are you talking about?"

"I mean that Katara has no fault in this. I'm the one to blame. She likes you, you know."

"But you have feelings for her?"

Zuko's silence was all the confirmation Aang needed.

"Well...I guess I can forgive you..."

Zuko looked straight to Aang's eyes, like he was trying to read his mind.

"So, you don't resent me for kissing her? You're not mad?"

"No..."

Zuko turned his chin away. "Liar."

"I'm not lying!" Aang denied. "I said I could forgive you. What's the point in this?"

"We need to settle this, Aang. I don't want you to harbor any hard feelings toward me." He began to unfasten his belt and then he slipped his tunic off his shoulders, throwing it to the side. The moonlight illuminated the pale skin of his now bare, scarred chest. "There's only one way to do this. We'll fight." he declared. "Agni Kai."

Aang's eyes widened. "Are you—" He was cut off as a fireball was sent straight at his head.

"Fight, Aang! I know you're angry with me. Fight me for her!" Zuko commanded. He continued to attack Aang, hurling fireballs while running toward him.

"You're the angry one here!" Aang returned as he leapt around, dodging Zuko's fireballs. "I won't fight you!"

Zuko rushed straight for Aang as the young airbender attempted to make a getaway on his glider, and he quickly breathed a ball of fire at the staff, burning the wings so that it was unusable.

Without warning, a hole opened right beside them, and a small girl with milky eyes jumped out.

"What the hell?" she called, taking in the situation.

"Don't interfere, Toph."

"Oh, I won't, Sparky. A friendly death-match is just the thing to spice up my evening. But geez, you're not really trying to kill him, are you?"

Zuko didn't answer. Aang was trying to run again. The firebender jumped high, using his bending as propulsion, and dived in the Avatar's direction to give him a flaming kick. However, the boy suddenly turned to him and blew him out of the air with a gust of wind.

"That's better," Zuko called, standing up from where he'd fallen and resuming his bending position.

Aang shook his head and looked back at him with a hard expression. "I won't fight you, Zuko. I see no reason for this."

At the young monk's words, Zuko's face changed to a scowl of frustration. "Then how can you say you like her, Aang?" he demanded, arcing his hand in front of him and making a trail of fire in the air. "You're never clear! You just want us to believe you only have a good side, when in fact you're just hiding the less noble parts like nobody will think they're there if you just cover them up enough. You are still human, after all. I know you're angry with me! Show me your anger so you can release it!"

"I have no anger!"

"That's bullshit! You're afraid to admit it! That's why you keep her in doubt, you know!"

"AND YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER!" Aang screamed back, suddenly furious.

Zuko quickly realized he'd touched a nerve with his words, because Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow, and his body lifted into the air. Without hesitating, the child Avatar moved his arms in quick, succinct earthbending motions, causing five boulders to emerge from the ground and fly in Zuko's direction.

"What do you know about her, Zuko? A few months ago you were trying to kill her!" Aang accused as Zuko dodged the boulders and tried to advance in his direction.

Zuko's eyes narrowed._ That's why I think I know her. Because I had the chance to meet her as both an enemy and an ally_.

Aang caught Zuko's approach and sent a fireball at his chest. Zuko bent it away, but the time it took to disperse the flames was just the time the Avatar needed to slam the ground with his foot, causing a pillar of rock to shoot up in front of the firebender and hit him in the chest, cracking his ribs with its brute force. Zuko cried out in pain as the impact sent him flying. There was a loud crack as his body smacked into a tree a good ten meters away, and he promptly lost consciousness.

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When Zuko woke up, he was in the grass. Toph and Aang were standing at his side, and Katara was healing him with a nervous expression. Aang stared down at him with a serious look.

"Zuko, you were right about me," the young airbender confessed. "The only way for me to control my emotions is to face them. I'll start by admitting that I can't forgive you yet."

That said, the airbender turned and walked off in Appa's direction, leaving him and the two girls behind.

Katara rounded on him next. "What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded.

"Move away, Katara. I'm okay," he said coolly.

Surprised by his coldness, the waterbender looked to Toph for elucidations, but the blind girl only gave her a look that showed she didn't understand Zuko's reaction any better than Katara did.

Looking back at him, Katara said, "Did he hit your head too? I just glued your bones back together five minutes ago."

Zuko looked up at her, taking in her lovely face, her soft skin, her pretty blue eyes. She wasn't his. She would never be his. The knowledge hurt him, and he sighed, steeling himself for what he was about to do. "Katara..." he said, banishing any emotion from his face. "Come closer. I need to say something."

Katara leaned in, looking expectant and nervous in equal measures.

"I'm going to make things easier for you," he declared, looking into her eyes seriously. He allowed himself just a moment to admire her features once more, then he took a deep breath and said, "Whatever my actions before may have lead you to believe, I have no feelings for you. You're a filthy peasant, and that's all you'll ever be to me."

Katara's eyes widened in shock at his words. Then they narrowed dangerously and she looked at him with pure anger for a brief moment, during which Zuko was sure she was going to do something painful to him. But then, something like understanding appeared in her eyes, and her expression changed to a look Zuko couldn't decipher. The only evidence to what was going on inside her head was the mistiness of her eyes and the single, silent tear that broke free to roll down the contour of her cheek. She stood up, still looking at him, then she turned her back on him and walked away in the direction Aang had taken before.

"Wow, you're really going that route?" asked Toph, perplexed.

"Going what route?"

"Oh, spare me, Sparky. I know what you're doing."

Zuko bowed his head and gingerly placed his hand over his recent wound.

"I'm used to this. I can handle it. He's the Avatar, he's got enough to struggle with."

"You know, she didn't believe you..."

Zuko looked over at Toph sharply. "What? Then how come she..."

"She's playing your game now. Hiding her feelings for the Avatar's sake."

Zuko's face registered shock and he turned his head to look again at where Katara was, now at Aang's side. While the airbender mounted the flying bison, he saw her looking back at him. There was no anger in her expression anymore, only bitterness and a subdued, complacent smile.

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**I know the end was kinda sad, but I'm a big Zutara fan (seriously, I hate they didn't end up together in the series), hehe. I like to think Zuko didn't gave up on her after that. **

**Please, review me, the feedback is important for me, since I'm newbie at this. Bye bye!**


	2. Promise

Hello!

So, I decided to make chapters of this. It will still be an aggregate of one-shots, but they will happen in the same time line. This one happens a few years after the previous chapter. Zuko is already a Fire Lord but, as aways, things aren't so easy for him.

Again, I have to thank** Advocaat** for the huge help she gave me on this. I wouldn't even be posting this if it wasn't for you Allison, I promise I'll try to pay you back somehow, I don't know, maybe buying you sushi and froofroo drinks one of these days.

I also have to thank **chromeknickers **for giving me basis to write the fightning scenes. Thanks a lot Lia!

I hope you enjoy it.

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It happened during an Agni Kai. Zuko was fighting a middle aged man named Hanzou, another noble discontent with his ruling and the end of the war. During the fight, a group of supporters of the former Ozai regime infiltrated and attacked the palace prison cells, detonating the entrance and freeing his sister, Azula. The duel had been a decoy. A guard had rushed through the inner arena and announced the attack, and Zuko immediately ordered Hanzou's arrest and rushed to the cells, but Azula was already out by the time he got there. Now he was chasing his sister again, running past the atrium of the Fire Palace to reach the outside area. It was night, and, oddly, Zuko met no guards on his way. He felt like he was heading into a trap. It was in the same place where they'd fought years before that he found his sister, standing and looking at him with her fierce, maniacal glare.

"So, we meet again, Zuzu. You look taller," she said, her face adopting a sarcastic look.

"Whatever your plan was, it failed, Azula. The invaders were defeated. It's only you and me now," answered the young Fire Lord.

Azula grinned. "Then I clearly have the advantage."

The fight began with Azula throwing multiple fireballs at Zuko while openly rushing towards him. He managed to dodge the fire shots and accepted her offer for close combat, running in her direction. Their battle was a dance of kicks and punches, scratching the air with fire. Even in her madness, his sister clearly maintained her fighting skills. Her movements were precise and calculated, nothing like the last time they had dueled. Talent against pure force of will, sister and brother delivered fiery blows to each other fiercely, their bodies stretched with elegance through the familiar firebending movements. After several minutes, they separated for a few seconds to breathe.

"So, I heard our uncle died. It's a shame I couldn't put that traitor out of his misery myself," she said, panting.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Zuko replied furiously.

"Why not? He was traitorous scum, same as you!" She glared at him, her expression ruthless. "You think you are saving this nation, brother? You're ruining it! You are weak and pathetic! The Fire Nation was made to be _ruled._ That's why they released me. The people want a true conqueror!"

Zuko knew the game she was playing and he wouldn't stand for it. He attacked his sister again, driving unceasing, flaming jabs at her, all of them easily dodged by the prodigious girl. Enjoying the situation, Azula sadistically laughed while waiting for an opening to strike. Thanks to his reckless movements, the moment came quickly and Azula seized it, delivering a shot of blue flames that exploded right on his chest.

Zuko was tossed by the impact and fell into the ground several meters away. As he tried to stand up, his vision became blurred. Blood was seeping from a fresh gash on his forehead, and he caught the scent of smoke and burned clothes in his nostrils. He was about to collapse when words from his uncle suddenly came to his mind.

_Tell me nephew, what is the fuel for your bending?_

He tried to focus on those words, but his thoughts were a mess of self doubt. Was Azula still superior after all? All the training he'd undergone, the lessons he'd learned in those years... was all the determination and hard work in the world simply not enough when faced with pure talent? He coughed, and tried to clear his mind.

_Every flame demands fuel to combust__.__The flames you bend are no exception__. When firebending, you use your very soul to feed the flames, and our soul is nothing more than what we feel, what we hate and love, what we desire most. This is the blessing and the __curse__ of firebending.__ You see,__ when we feed our flames with the right fuel, we can __inspire__ our bending and at the same time grow spiritually. But when we use feelings such as hatred, even if we improve our bending, we __run__ the risk of losing ourselves. You saw what happened to your sister._

He stared Azula. She was still there, waiting for him to stand up and fight again. It wasn't like her madness was a burden to her, in fact, it fit her. What made his sister so strong? Everything was so easy for her, so natural. Sometimes he hated that even more than he hated her.

_You __have__ always used anger to firebend__.__ You must let __such __negative__ feelings go. Hatred is enough to produce a large burst, but you will never get stability this way. To master your element, you must find peace. What is it__,__ Nephew__?__ What brings you peace?_

He stood up, and took a look at the point where he was hit. The hole in his clothes was showing his chest. The lightning scar was there, pulsing pain and bringing old memories. He touched it, and Azula noticed.

"I should have killed you that day, Zuzu. That filthy peasant was the one who healed you, wasn't she? Getting rid of her is the first thing I'm going to do after I'm done with you."

He looked her in the eyes and saw only vengeance. It was clear that Azula truly hated Katara. Being defeated wasn't something that she could accept, and her defeat was made all the worse by the fact that her opponent was a waterbender. She didn't know Katara was more than a common bender. Katara was a prodigy, just like her. Azula underestimated her, and defeat was the price for it.

But it was a new fight today, and he could not let her escape from here. He could not let her threaten his friends again, and certainly not Katara. Protecting Katara became a task he'd devoted himself to. It was the only thing he could do to express his feelings, even knowing she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Besides, Azula was his responsibility. They shared blood, after all.

"You will die before even touching her," he said, and suddenly, everything became clear. He needed to defeat Azula for a much more important reason than just hate. Decided, he removed his burned robes and took an aggressive bending position.

_Aah… such beautiful and fierce flames__.__ So much passion. I think you just found your inspiration. I __haven't__ see flames like that since…wait, nephew, are you in love?_

This time, he made the first move, releasing a big jet of fire from the palm of his hand in her direction. The flame color was pure crimson; the crimson of dragon fire. Azula tried to avoid the attack but the fire spread too quickly, tripping her when she tried to jump out of the range. Trapped in the inferno, she quickly bended her own blue flames to create a wall between them and avoid being engulfed.

_I am so proud of you__,__ Zuko. __It would seem that__ the spring of youth has finally arrived __for you__. Tell me, who is this lucky lady? __Have you begun courting__ her already?_

When the flames settled down, he saw his sister's expression of disbelief, trying to understand what had just happened.

"What's this?" she demanded. He didn't answer.

Azula clenched her teeth furiously and began her attack anew. Spinning and kicking, she threw her sapphire flames at him. He created a wall of fire to defend against the incoming attacks and quickly delivered a low kick that produced an arc of red fire that swept low across the battlefield and forced her to jump high to avoid being overthrown. But in the air she was defenseless, and with a single punch, Zuko threw a precise ruby fire ball that connected straight with her chest. She shrieked as she was sent flying, but in the last second, she tumbled and managed to land on her feet.

She was starting to slip again, just like before. Zuko noticed that and smirked at his sister's disgrace. Azula's face was pure hate now; psychotic rage. It was the same look she'd worn in their last Agni Kai. Defeating her suddenly was looking possible. Soon, no other member of his family would be a disgrace on this world, and even if Zuko could not have the woman he loved, at least he could say that he protected her.

_Zuko, you cannot suppress love. It is the most uncontrollable of feelings, and at this stage, it is so wild__.__ Oh…I remember in my __younger__ days, when I first met my wife. What is preventing you __from__making__ a move__,__ son__?__ Is it __really__ impossible?_

_No, nothing is impossible, _Zuko answered the voice in his head_. It was a choice I made__ and__ it was the right thing to do._

Azula rushed forward, trying to initiate close combat again. The dance of fire continued, but it was clear that her upper hand had been lost. Strikes were equally given and equally blocked, blue and red flames igniting around the two fighters as their fists and feet collided.

_So she is the one. Forbidden love! This is so appropriate for a man like you__,__ nephew. You have __something new__ to __struggle__ for now._

It was while he was trying to avoid a hurled blast of fire that Zuko caught sight of the hidden knife slipping through Azula's sleeve. He tried to avoid it, but the unexpectedness of such a move from her slowed his reaction. He'd always thought his sister too proud to break the sacred laws of Agni Kai by using a weapon other than her bending to attack him. But he was wrong, and he paid for his error with a blade through his abdomen.

_I'm sorry__.__ I'm not trying to make fun of you__.__ But you must not turn this feeling into a burden, for love can drive a man mad __as readily as it lifts him up__. __I have seen__ it many times. You must fight for this __in __the__ same way you always __have__, no matter what. You will not lose yourself__.__ Promise me this__,__ Zuko__._

He cried out in pain and anger, but managed to push his enemy away with a wave of fire. He fell to one knee and pulled the blade out and his blood splattered on the ground. Doubt tried to creep into his soul once more as he felt the consequences of the strike. He was losing blood quickly and he knew it was only a matter of minutes before the blood loss took his consciousness.

"Sorry, Zuzu, change of plans. I always win," Azula taunted with that same mad smile on her lips.

Zuko thought about cauterizing the wound, but he knew it would just open again if he continued the fight, and running wan't an option. Taking a deep breath, he rose back into a bending position and glared at his sister, cursing her. Azula was wounded as well, several burns marring her skin, and despite her bravado she was panting nervously.

"Not this time," he said, his own breath coming in shallow gasps.

The battle resumed at long range. Volleys of flames crossed the battlefield simultaneously, some of them colliding and exploding in the air while others went straight to their targets who dodged them, causing them to impact on the ground and spray fire everywhere.

As Zuko spun and punched, blood spilled from his wound, staining the ground around him with dark blotches, but Azula was slowly succumbing to his flames, and that encouraged him. As he continued his assault, he didn't even notice his own savage scream as he advanced in her direction, still delivering large bursts of red flames.

His flurry of attacks became so fierce that Azula stopped counterattacking and was forced to focus on blocking. Just as as it started, their battle ended with Zuko conjuring a big burst of flames that engulfed his sister.

The violent, scorching attack proved too much, and Azula dropped to the ground, unconscious. Zuko limped over to her and kneeled over her body, pointing his fist at her face. All it would take was a single blow and everything would end. No more coups, no more threats. The lineage of despots in his family would be wiped out, and his friends would be safe again.

_Do you promise me, Zuko?_ his uncle's voice echoed in his mind again.

His fist was full of fire when he heard the roar of a bison.

"ZUKO!"

Her voice was almost a plea. He turned around and saw the huge, white animal landing. Katara jumped off Appa and ran in his direction. It was surprising how the sight of her affected him, even in such a situation; even after all his years ruling a nation full of people who wanted him dead; even when he thought this heart had turned to stone.

Out of the battle rhythm by her interruption, he felt all the pain and bruises he'd pushed from is thoughts hit him at once and he fell to the ground. Katara approached and pushed him away from his unconscious sister, leaving a trail of blood in his path. She kneeled and held him, quickly getting to work healing the wound in his belly.

He looked her in the eyes, sensing he was about to collapse. Four years made her only more beautiful. He saw tears in her blue eyes. Was she disappointed, or just concerned? He wished he knew.

"I promise," he said, looking at her. She looked back at him, crying, without understanding his words.

_It__'s been__ a long time since I __last__ saw such beautiful flames._

* * *

So, I already have an idea for a sequel, but this will have to wait a bit, cause my life is kinda of a mess right now. Anyway, it's a little hard writting in a different language, but I think I'm getting better. Review me so I can know where should I try to improve, I don't care if you offend me, I know how bad I am :D.

See ya.


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